Ore scrubbing apparatus



A. J. WElNlG ORE SCRUBBING APPARATUS Jan. 3', 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2, .1945

Y ARTHUR .1. WEINIG INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY w v .M s m m w V u 3 S m n on .3 Q m 9 t mm mm B r m KN x mm m k 5.5 3:555 H H n I Al III fl lw wn k mm km on 2 H mm mm m mm. v Q m 9 E Q Q 7. 0 m Q w 4 Jan. 3, 1950 I A. J. WEINIG 2,493,049

v ORE SCRUBBING APPARATUS Filed July 2, "1945 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ARTHUR J. wsuwa INVENTOR.

ATIORNEY Jan. 3, 1950 A. J. WEINIG ORE SCRUBBING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 2, 1945 m m E W J m T R A Y E N R O T T A Patented Jan. 1;

ORE SCRUBBING APPARATUS Arthur J.

Weinig, .Golden, (3010., assignor to Vanadium Corporation of America, Bridgevllle, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application July 2, 1945, Serial No. 602,897

15 Claims. (Cl. 241-102) This invention relates to ore scrubbing apparatus and more particularly relates to apparatus for scrubbing ores which can be adapted to pump the material under treatment in a circulatory movement in conjunction with its scrubbing function.

In the treatment of certain minerals it is necessary to scrub the surfaces of the individual grains or particles in order to properly condition the material for treatment at various stages of an ore milling operation. As an example, in preparing certain ores for froth flotation it is advantageous to subjectaltered or unclean surfaces of the mineral or minerals to be recovered to a scrubbing or cleaning action in advance of the flotation stage.

Also in some ores valuable constituents may exist as relatively soft stains or coatings on harder grains of waste material and/or soft discrete grains of valuable constituents associated with harder grains of waste matter.

For example, carnotite ores of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona have the yellow soft mineral carnotite existing as stains and coatings on the quartz grains of the sandstones which constitute vanadium and uranium ores. Carnotite also exists as discrete grains associated with quartz sand. There also exists soft discrete grains of chloritic minerals within which grains vanadium minerals occur as inclusions. When the chloritic minerals predominate the ores are frequently called roscoelite ores" in local parlance.

It has been discovered that by the use of suitable scrubbing apparatus the valuable constituents of such ores are freed and disintegrated into slimes and simple desliming of the ores so treated yields at once an efiective separation between the valuable minerals and the waste matter of the ore.

It is an object of the present invention to provide simple, durable and eflicient apparatus for scrubbing ores.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient apparatus for pumping and/or scrubbing ores in which the moving parts and associated wear-surfaces of the apparatus have a high degree of resistance to abrasion.

A further object of the invention is to provide ore scrubbing apparatus in which particles in a variety of sizes are subjected to a rolling movement in conjunction witha scrubbing action tov subject all surfaces of the individual particles to repetitions of the scrubbing action in a single treatment. 4

Other objects reside in novel details of construction and novel combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will be described in the course of the following description.

Briefly described, the ore scrubbing apparatus of the present invention comprises a closed chamber or container into which a free-flowing pulp is fed through a suitable opening, and caused to pass between contiguous and preferably yieldable surfaces of two cooperative members, at least one of which is rotary and so constructed as to tend to change shape or otherwise move and press against the other said member under the centrifugal influence of the rotation, thereby inducing a strong suction influence on the intake opening and rolling the particles continuously in their passage between the contiguous surfaces until they pass from between said surfaces, whereupon the pulp is discharged from the container. It should be understood that the container may be enclosed when advantage is to be taken of the inherentpumping action of the apparatus, or the container may be open when the pumping action i-s'not desired.

By having the two cooperative members located in partitioning relation between the inlet and,

, influences to effectively extract soft embedded constituents in the solids.

With this understanding of the general arrangement and function of the apparatus, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate typical embodiments of the invention. However; I do not desire my invention to be limited to the particular construction and arrangement shown and described, as I intend by the appended claims to cover all embodiments within the spirit and scope of my invention.

In the drawings in the several views of which like parts have been designated similarly.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, showing the arrangement of parts in one form of scrubbing apparatus embodying features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a more or less diagrammatic, vertical section through another form of apparatus embodying features of my invention and showing an arrangement for a series or battery type oper-' ation;

Fig. 3 is another diagrammatic vertical section through still another form of apparatus embodying features of this invention and showing an arrangement for a' multiple-stage treatment in a single treatment unit;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section illustrating a modified arrangement of the cooperative mem-- bers that produce the scrubbing action in the several structural forms illustrated herein; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical central section through another modified form of ore scrubbing apparatus embodying features of the present invention.

Referring first to the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, a container or casing C is mounted to admit one end of a horizontally disposed shaft S, journalled in bearings 13 and B, and driven by a motor M through the intermediary of V-belt or other suitable transmission T. Provision is made for lengthwise adjustment of shaft S by an adjusting mechanism A located at the free end of said shaft. An indicating element I shows or measures the extent of such adjustment.

As shown in Fig. 1, container C comprises a hollow body having a frustro-conical surface 6 at one end, which is provided with a central inlet opening I preferably in the form of a nipple I. An abrasion-resistant cover or lining member 8 is seated on the inner conical surface and preferably is formed of rubber or similar yieldable material. The lining is fitted within a groove 9 on a hub member Ill seated on nipple 'l' and is held at its periphery by a clamping ring l2, which also forms the side wall of easing C.

An outlet opening i3 is provided by another nipple l3 extending through the side wall l2 of casing C. An end plate or disc l5 covers the opposite end of the casing and is apertured as shown at IE to admit shaft S. This plate is supported on a face plate I4 by bolts or other suitable fastening means I! and the face plate in turn is attached to and supported from a suitable base I8, which also provides the support for bearings B and B.

Shaft S extends substantially through the interior of casing C and carries at its end a hub 20 against which a fiexible disc member 2|, preferably rubber, is held by a nut 22. The ad- Joining surfaces of hub 20 and nut 22 position the central portion of member 2| in one direction while the lining member 8 bends the peripheral portion of member 2| in an opposite direction and thus member 2| when at rest is maintained in unbalanced relation to a plane perpendicular to the lengthwise axis of shaft 8.

However, due to the elastic or flexible character of member 2|, rotation ofshaft S will cause said member to change shape or distort as it tends to approach a position perpendicular to the axis of rotation under the centrifugal influence of its rotation. Since the cooperative flexible member 8 prevents member 2| from assuming the aforesaid perpendicular position, the adjoining surfaces are brought in contact with considerable pressure being exerted by member 2| during its rotation.

This action produces a substantial suction effect for feeding the apparatus through inlet 1. However, gravity or pressure feed may be employed additionally. When the inlet 1 is receiving a liquid such as an ore pulp feeding through a conduit connected with a suitable source of supply, the pulp is drawn between members 2| and O, with the particles rolled and scrubbed repeatedly in their travel through the restricted passage. Due to the yieldable properties of the material of the two cooperative members, the individual particles are substantially enclosed, and the pressure exerted thereon is sufficient to disintegrate and free the soft constitutents held within the solids of the pulp.

The member 2! in addition to producing the scouring and pumping action aforesaid, also acts as a valve to prevent recirculation, between the outlet portion of the casing interior and the inlet portion thereof, as the only escape for the pulp passing from between the members is through the outlet I3.

It has been found by experimentation that proper spacing of member 2i from member a in the inactive position will produce optimum scrubbing for a given pulp. For this reason, I prefer to use a shaft mounting which permits selective longitudinal movement and the adjusting mechanism A is a convenient means for so changing the position of shaft S for adjusting the required power input.

To this end a screw 25, actuated by a suitable handle member 26 is threaded through an extension 21 on a stationary base 28 and drives a control member 29 mounted for sliding movement through a recess 30 of base 28. A double thrust bearing 3| at the end of shaft S is fitted within and slightly spaced from a recess 32 at the end of slidable control member 29. Through this arrangement, movement of the screw will cause the end surfaces of said recess portion of member to bear against the thrust bearing 3| in either a forward or rearward direction, according to the direction of rotation of the screw. As soon as one of said surfaces engages the thrust bearing, the shaft is moved in a longitudinal direction and thereby changes the relative positions of members 2| and 8.

'In order to provide an accurate visible measurement of the extent of any such movement, I place a ring 34 on shaft S in proximity to hearing B and then locate an indicatory element I on bearing B which overhangs the shaft and terminates in a pointer located in spaced but proximate relation to ring 34. When the screw is actuated it is possible for the operator to observe graduations in the spacing between indicatory element I and ring 34 which assists the operator in making power input adjustments in conjunction with power indicating meters or devices (not shown).

In order to prevent leakage of the pulp through opening I6, I provide a stufllng box 36 about the exterior of said opening, which may be of any suitable type. As illustrated, the stuffing box may include a cylindrical housing welded to or otherwise mounted on plate IS in fluid-tight connection therewith. The end of the housing is threaded for attachment of a cap member 31 which bears against a gland 38. Adjacent opening it a lantern ring 39 is mounted on shaft S and has suitable apertures (not shown) for admission of a lubricant to the shaft. A nipple or fitting II! is provided for the supply of pressure gland water or lubricant and the space within the housing will be filled with packing material (not shown) in a manner well known in the art.

Apparatus constructed as aforesaid is well suited for performing various scrubbing operations of the type hereinbefore described in continuous operation. While I have described a preferred arrangement of parts, it .will be underfor a second treatment.

. 8 stood that variations may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of the invention. Certain of these variations have been illustrated in the other views of the drawings, which for convenience in series or battery type operation in which the scrubbing action, in addition to cleaning the surfaces of the mineral particles, may also be utilized to film or surface coat said particles. Two treatment units have been illustrated, but it will be understood that these are intended to designate any plurality of units which may be required in such an operation. As illustrated, the apparatus comprises two treatment units designated U and U respectively, with incoming pulp flrst treated in unit U and then passed on to unit U Each said unit comprises an upper tank portion III, preferably conical; having a lower central opening 51 through which pulp is fed to a container in which the scrubbing operation is performed. A rotary shaft Inthis form, I have used a disk of tapering thickness, which is in unbalanced relation to the adjoining partition surfaces when the shaft is stopped, and subsequent rotation of the shaft causes the members 16a and 16b to tend to move 'into a plane perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

As a consequence, the members 16a and 16b bear against said partitions during their rotation and pggduce a suction effect at the openingsn a and Pulp entering the tank through inlet 10 is thus caused to flow along a circuitous path, first through opening 12a, thence between partition 12 and rotary member 16b in which it is subjected to a scrubbing action of the type-hereinbefore described, thence inwardly through opening-13a and between members 13 and 16a to flnally pass.

to the discharge outlet II under the pumping action of the rotary members. The-repetitions of the'scrubbing action serve to clean the particle surfaces so that upon final discharge from the tank the pulp constituents are in proper condition for the subsequent treatment.

52 extends downwardly through tank 50 into container C' and carries a hub 53 against which a flexible disk 54 is held by a nut member 55.

The top wall 56 of container C isconical and.

has a resilient lining 5'! against which disk 54 presses during rotation of shaft 52.

Feed to unit U' is introduced through an inlet member 58 which is connected with a suitable source of supply (not shown). .The pulp feeding into tank 50 is agitated by the rotation of shaft 52 therein and also by the vortex formed by the passage of pulp through opening 5|. Any suitable reagent material, such as dispersing, dissolving, flotation or flocculatlng agents, may be fed into tank so and is there mixed by the aforesaid agitation. Thereafter when the pulp passes into container C through opening 5|, it is subjected to a scrubbing action of the type hereinbefore described and, in addition, the device serves as a reactor chamber for the reagents above referred to. The pulp passing from between the surfaces 54 and 51 is then pumped through an outlet 59 and is conducted by a suitable conduit 60 to the inlet 58 of the next unit in the series here designated U", and the action is repeated therein.

The conduit 60 of the final unit in the series may be used to conduct the conditioned pulp to another stage of the treatment, as for example,- the feed inlet of a froth flotation machine. It will be apparent that in such a succession of scrubbing stages the desired amount of scrubbing and/or filming maybe provided to properly condition the material for the subsequent treatment.

convenient way of so operating has been illustrated in Fig. 3. In this form of the-invention. the tank or container C has a bottom feed inlet I0 and a top discharge c-utlet H. A plurality of spaced partition members I2 and 13 respectively, are disposed within the tank at different levels between the inlet and outlet, A rotary shaft. i4 extends into the tank and has a plurality of hub members 15a and 15b mounted thereon, each of which carries a flexible disk, respectively designated 16a and 16b, which overhang and are slightly spaced from the coacting partitions 13 and 12 respectively. A central opening 12a and 13a is provided in said partitions.

In all the forms thus 'far described I have shown smooth surfacesv in the contact areas. For

some purposes, it may be preferable to have irregular and conforming surfaces to enhance the scrubbingaction. Fig. 4 illustrates a suitable arrangement of this type in which two coactin members 80 and BI are provided with undulating or corrugated surfaces 82 and 83 respectively, which preferably but not necessarily are parallel when in the inactive position. Either or both of such members may be rotary and by having a central opening in one (notshown) which acts as the pulp inlet, an effective scrubbing action may be produced. V

For certain purposes it may be desirable to control the pressure exerted in the scrubbing action by varying the spacing between members of constant shape rather than by utilizing deformation or fiexure under the centrifugal influence of the rotation as previously described.

In many operations it will be preferable to use the scrubbing apparatus merely as a scrubber and not as a pump. Fig. 6 illustrates an arrangement well suited for such an operation. The container 0 ,of this form is mounted on a suitable frame F by connecting its conical end wall I fll-with supporting surfaces of the frame by means of bolts 12 orother suitable fastenings. The wall I Ill has a centralopening in which a 'nippleor inlet member I03 is fitted to provide a feedpassage I04 to the unit.

A lining member I05 is fitted against the inner surface of conical end wall llll and preferably is rubber or similar flexible wear-resistant composition. This member is-held centrally in a groove or slot I06 by a clamping member In! and is held at its periphery by a clamping ring member designated generally by the reference numeral I08 and comprising an outer flexible ring or band I09, preferably metal, and an inner member I I0, preferably comprising molded rubber on a metallic core.

The opposite end wall of casing C comprises an inner wear plate or disc. I l I and an outer plate H2 supported from frame F by a structural assembly H3. A nipple H4 extending outwardly through an opening in ring member I 08 functions as the discharge outlet of the unit and connects with a conduit H5 which delivers the discharge by gravity to a pump or other impelling means (not shown) by which it is'conducted to the next stage of the treatment.

Shaft 8 is mounted for rotation in the manner hereinbeforedescribed and is driven by a suitable prime mover (not shown). with its free end extending through central openings in plates Ill and H2 and carries a hub member [l6 against which a flexible, wear-resistant disc' 1 "is held by a flat headed nut member I IS. The outer portion of disc Ill in its inactive position is bent slightly by contact with lining Hi and during rotation is subjected to the distortion effect aforementioned, thus exerting a steady and forceful pressure against said lining. Leakage of pulp solution along shaft S is prevented by the provision of a stufiing box I20, of any suitable type, and which may comprise a cap member I, a gland I22, and suitable packing material (not shown).

From the foregoing description of the various constructions and arrangements which may be utilized in the practice of this invention, it will be apparent that a thorough and intense scrubbing is given'the particles of a pulp in a single pass through the apparatus. When the nature of the material requires a succession of such treatments, the series arrangement shown in Fig. 2, or the multiple stage treatment shown in Fig. 3 are examples of equipment arrangements which may be'used. While only two treatment stages into the scrubbing apparatus and in the subse- 'quent treatment, the scrubber apparatus functions additionally as a reactor chamber for mixing such reagents with the particles of the pulp to condition them for subsequent treatments.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that many of the component parts are interchangeable in the various forms illustrated and the adjustmentsand controls disclosed are adapted for use with all the forms, although illustrated as applied to only certain of the forms. The various arrangements of cooperative members are suited for installation in the various scrubber assemblies illustrated and changes and' variations in composition of materials may be availed of as pointed out herein.

have been shown in each of these examples, they,

are intended to indicate the arrangement of any plurality of such stages which may be utilized in this way.

- In all these forms, it will be noted that it is preferable to utilize an elastic material in forming the rotary member to the end that such material will flow or stretch to permit the reshaping of said member under the centrifugal influence or otherwise exert sufficient pressure against the other cooperative member from which it is spaced when not operating, to insure a high degree of scrubbing when the solids of the pulp are moved between the contacting surfaces. Since most pulps treated in the apparatus contain abrasive solids it is preferable to have the cooperative surfaces formed of some abrasion-resistant composition.

For this reason, I prefer to use natural or synthetic rubber compositions in forming the rotary Through the use of scrubber apparatus of the type disclosed herein, a rapid and intense scrubbing action can be obtained with low cost, emcicnt operation and with only a minimum of wear on operating parts. Features of the operation described but not claimed herein have been made the subject matter of claims in my copending app.ication Serial No. 623,665.

In the preceding description, reference has been made to a distortable cooperative member and to its distortion in operation to accomplish the desired pressure of one surface against the other. It will be understood that the distortion referred to is not .a permanent distortion or deformation ,of the material, but is only a temporary condition utilized in obtaining the desired scrubbing action. Consequently, as used throughout the specification, such terms should be interpreted as applying to the temporary or existing condition rather than implying that the condition or member and the wear surface of the other cooperative member, although forsome purposes it may be advantageous to use other materials, such as felt, leather, soft plastics or similar elastic or yieldable compositions. All of such compositions are what may be termed elastoplast.

materials as defined in Hackhs Chemical Dictionary, second edition, page 330, namely, a substance having both elastic and plastic properties." Where the yieldable property is not reber to selectively vary the spacing between the cooperative members is advantageous in adapting a given apparatus for the treatment of a variety of pulps or to accommodate variations in a given pulp and thus insure substantially optimum scrubbingat all times during'continuous operation. While the structural arrangement has been illustrated only in the forms shown in Fig. 1, it will be apparent that the same adjustment may be included in the various other forms shown in the drawings.

arrangement is permanent.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In ore scrubbing apparatus of the type in which an ore pulp is continuously moved in and out of a container and subjected to a scrubbing action therein, the improvement which comprises a container having an interior conical pulpcontacting surface, a rotary disc formed of an clastoplast material so as to be capable of deforming movement and supported adjacent its center and with its remaining peripheral portion freely suspended and positioned in proximate and substantially parallel relation to said pulp-contacting surface of the container, said pulp-contacting surface being inclined at a distinct angle to the piane of rotation of said disc and positoned for contact with said rotary disc during rotation of the disc, there being a feed-delivery opening through one of said contacting surfaces adjacent its center for the introduction of an ore pulp between said surfaces, and mechanism arranged to drive said rotary disc so as to cause it to distort and tend to shift its adjoining sur- Another feature of the action of the present of the container into an intake portion and a -movement through said passa discharge portion with a restricted passage therebetween for the movement of material between said inlet and said outlet, said passage being formed by substantially parallel surfaces of said members, one stationary and one rotary, the stationary surface bounding a conical zone, the sides of which inclined at an angle less than 90 to 'the axisof rotation and said rotary surface being located inside the conical bounds and formed of a sheet of elastoplast material so as to be capable of deforming movement, said material being lowcasing having a central opening at one of its ends and a discharge outlet distant therefrom, a horizontal, shaft Journalled for rotation and extending into said casing through its end opposite the inlet end, a rotary member spaced from and parallel to a contiguous surface of the container and dividing its interior into an intake portion and a discharge portion and providing a passage for movement of material from the central opening to the discharge portion, the contiguous surface bounding a conical zone, the sides so low casing having a central opening at one of ammo feed inlet and a discharge outlet, and cooperative members dividing the interior of each receptacle into an intake portion and a discharge portion and providing a restricted passage therebetween for the movement of material between said inlet and said outlet, said passage being formed by substantially parallel surfaces of said members one stationary and one rotary, the stasubstantially its entire contact area. except assuch surfaces are separated by pulp constituents passing between the inlet and outlet, conductive means disposed between said receptacles for the of which incline at an angle less than 90 to the 9 axis of rotation and said rotary surface being located inside the conical bounds and formed of a sheet of elastoplast material so as to'be capable of deforming movement with its central portion mounted on the shaft and its remaining periph-, eral portion freely suspended and positioned at an angle less than 90 to the shaft thereby enabling a distorting movement toward the contiguous surface under the centrifugal force of rotation so as to bear against particles in the passage and conform to the contour of said particles, and means for rotatingsaid shaft.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3, inclusive of mechanism, including a screw, mounted at an end of the shaft for varying the spacing between said rotary member and the contiguous surface.

5. Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a container having a feed inlet and a discharge outlet, a series of spaced partition members located within said container and dividing the space between the inlet and the outlet into a plurality ll including a screw mounted at an end of the shaft of treatment zones, there being a central opening through each said partition member, a rotary shaft, extending through at least one 'of said openings and carrying a series of rotary'members in proximate andsubstantiallyparallel and contiguous relation to the respective partitions to l0 distorting movement toward the contiguous surpassage of material from the discharge portion of one receptacle into the intake portion of the next receptacle in the series, and mechanism for driving the rotary members to thereby cause the particles of the feed to assume aprogressive rolling movement through said passage.

7. Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a holits ends and a discharge outlet distant therefrom, a horizontal shaft journalled for rotation and extending into said casing through its end opposite the inlet end, a rotary member spaced from a contiguous surface of the container and dividing its interior into an intake portion and a discharge portion and providing a passage for movement of material from the central opening to said discharge portion, said passage being formed by substantially parallel surfaces of said members, one stationary and one rotary, the stationary surface bounding a conical zone, the sides of which incline at an angle less than 90 to the axis of said rotation and said rotary surface being I located inside the conical bounds and formed ofa sheet of elastoplast material so as to be capable of deforming movement with its peripheral portion freely suspended and positioned at an angle less than 90 to the shaft thereby enabling a face under the centrifugal force of rotation so as to bear against ore particles in the passage and conform to the contour, of said particles, means for rotating said shaft, and mechanism member and the contiguous surface.

provide a pulp passage between adjoining zones in the respective passages, each rotary member being formed of a sheet of elastoplast material having its peripheral portion freely suspended and a discharge portion with a restricted passage M therebetween for the movement-of material beso as to be capable of deforming movement in various directions and positioned on the. shaft with its peripheral portion offset from its path of rotationso as to induce a distorting movement toward the contiguous partition surface under the centrifugal force of rotation and thereby bear against and conform to the contour of particles in the respective passages.

6. Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a plurality of treatment units arranged in series, each such unit comprising a pulp receptacle having a 78' 8, Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a container for fluent pulps having a feed intake and a discharge outlet, and cooperative substantially parallel dished-shaped members dividing the in terior of the container into an intake portion tween said inlet and said outlet, the inner of said members being formed of a sheet of elastoplast material so as to be capable of deforming movement supported for rotation adjacent its center.

and with its conical portion freely suspended and positioned by centrifugal force during rotation in direct contact relation with the other of said member throughout substantially the entire conical portion of said dished-shaped surface area 'of said member, except as such surfaces are separated by pulp constituents passing between the inlet and the outlet, and mechanism for driving the rotary member to thereby cause the particles of the feed to assume aprogressive rolling movement through said passage.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, inclusive of mechanism arranged to act on at least one of said cooperative members to vary the spacing between terior of the container into an intake portion and a discharge portion with a restricted passage therebetween for the movement of material between said inlet and said outlet, the inner of said members being formed of rubber so as to be capable of deforming movement and supported for rotation adjacent its center and with its conical portion freely suspended and positioned by centrifugal force during rotation in direct contact relation with the other said member throughout substantially the entire conical surface area of said member, except as such surfaces are separated by pulp constituents passing between the inlet and the outlet, and mechanism for driving the rotary member to thereby cause the particles of the feed to assume a progressive rolling movement through said passage.

12. Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a container for fluent pulps having a feed inlet and a discharge outlet, and cooperative substantially parallel dished-shaped members dividing the interior of the container into an intake portion and a discharge portion and providing a restricted passage therebetween for the movement of material between said inlet and said outlet, the inner of said members being formed of a sheet of elastoplast material so as to be capable of deforming movement and supported for rotation adjacent its center and with its conical portion freely suspended and arranged in partially acute-angular relation to its axis of rotation when inactive and adapted to distort in a movement toward a true perpendicular relation to its axis of rotation and in the direction of the other cooperative member under centrifugal force of rotation, thereby conforming to the contour of the particles passing through said restricted passage, and mechanism for driving the rotary member to thereby cause rolling movement through said passage.

13. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 in which the elastoplast material is a rubber composition.

14. Ore scrubbing apparatus comprising a cylindrical container having a conical end portion provided with an intake opening and a discharge opening in another surface of the container for material so as to be capable of deforming move- 'the particles of the feed to assume a progressive ment in various directions and with its central portion mounted on said shaft and its remaining peripheral portion freely suspended and positioned in converging relation to said conical end portion and tending to assume a perpendicular relation to the axis of rotation under the centrifugal force of rotation and thereby bear against said conical end portion, and mechanism for driving the shaft and said rotary member to thereby cause particles of the feed to assume a progressive rolling movement through said passage.

15. Ore scrubbing apparatus as defined in claim 14, in which the inner conical end surface is formed of a rubber composition.

ARTHUR J. WEINIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 6,644 Walker -1- Aug. 14, 1849 231,222 Good Aug. 17, 1880 237,839 Eichelberger Feb. 15, 1881 255,862 Hoyt Apr. 4, 1882 390,125 Hollingsworth Sept. 25, 1888 529,761 Sturtevant Nov. 27, 1894 764,993 Dunlap July 12, 1904 792,395, Buck June 13, 1905 1,645,847 Anthony Oct. 18, 1927 1,748,138 McBride Feb. 25, 1930 1,835,973 Shields Dec. 8, 1931 1,995,549 Myers Mar. 26, 1935 2,156,320 Sutherland May 2, 1939 2,173,975 Lyons Sept. 26, 1939 2,209,344 Mathews July 30, 1940 2,373,221 Baylock Apr. 10, 1945 OTHER REFERENCES Domestic Engineering Plumbing and Heating Catalogue, 1930, pages 449, 1058. (Copy in Scientiflc Library.) 

